Birthday
by KaibaGirl007
Summary: Mokuba's birthday told from his own point of view. Now read Seto's version of the story too.
1. Mokuba's POV

**Disclaimer**  
I would just like to state that I have no rights to Yugioh!  
Reasearch has gone into making this story but may not be 100 accurate.

I awake from my dreams which were happy and just like the way that I was feeling yesterday. But now I feel my heart ache as I have to face today, the one day that I've been dreading all year. I glance over at my clock. Its late thanks to my brother allowing me to sleep in. I get out of bed and prepare myself for the day ahead. Today's my birthday.

Downstairs I find my brother as he sits at the table with his head buried in a newspaper as he checks his company's shares. I can almost not bear to face him on this morning and think about returning upstairs to the safety of my room when he notices me and gestures for me to sit down, before returning to his newspaper.

Slowly I make my way across the room to join him at the table. On the way I'm approached by several of our servants as they wish me a happy birthday. I smile back at them with my forced thanks, trying to make myself seem convincing before they leave the room and my brother and I alone.

On the table there is my breakfast which I don't feel like eating, and also two cards and a present which I equally don't feel like opening. The glare that I receive from my brother tells me that I should do both. My toast is cold as I take a bite out of it and reach for the first card, and my brother continues to read his newspaper. I know that today he will try to ignore me as much as possible.

I open the card. On the front is a picture of a shiny red sports car with 'Brother' written across the top. Inside the message is plain and simple; 'To Mokuba, Congratulations on your 12th birthday. Seto.' I turn to my brother and force a weak smile to say thanks. He doesn't even notice that I'm here anymore as he continues to stare at the printed text of the newspaper. But I can tell that he's not reading it as his eyes are glazed over, lost in his own thoughts.

My stomach churns at the thought of how much he must hate me right now. When I was younger he used to tell me that I was being silly and that none of it was my fault. That was before our step-father came along, and since then he hasn't said anything to me on this day each year. I guess he truly does hate me, and who can blame him for what I've done?

I reach out for the second card which is attached to the present. Tearing them both free from each other I open the card. The front has pictures of cartoon animals on as they laugh surrounded by presents, cake and decorations. Inside the card comes a self recorded message from the sender. Quickly I close the card to stop the sound of Yugi and the others as they sing 'Happy Birthday' to me. My brother watches as I cut the wire by sliding my knife down the card before he returns back to his thoughts. I try the card again and am met with silence as I read the happy messages inside that I feel that I don't deserve.

The brightly wrapped present calls out to me to open it. I can't resist the temptation and tear off the paper a little too eagerly. I am faced with a shoe box and open it to find that it is filled with candy, puzzles and games. Part of me becomes excited at the sight of what will be my one and only gift, but it soon disappears as my brother brakes free from his thoughts and stares at the gift. I replace the lid back on to the box and also the happiness that would be all that I felt today.

The door bell rings and is answered by one of our servants. After a moment they close the door and approach my brother and I, only to place a huge bouquet of flowers on the table in front of us, before they leave the two of us alone again. This is just another reminder that today's my birthday.

The limo ride didn't take that long, but the silence between the two of us made it seem forever. My brother hasn't said a word to me at all so far today, and most likely never will. He hardly talks to me as it is, but this reaction from him every year is just hurt building up in side of me. Though I guess I deserve that pain after what I've done.

We get out of the limo and my brother carries the bouquet to the edge of the lake where we stand. This is the place that he used to talk about when we were younger. His favourite place where our mother used to bring him to have picnics and sail across the lake in little rowing boats. The boats, just like his memories, are long gone now and all that remains is just the lake and ourselves.

I stare up at my brother as he looks out across the lake. His eyes are still glazed but why I can not tell. Is he thinking back to those times that I'll never know? Or is he thinking about the pain and loss which has haunted him since my birth?

I look down at the water's surface as flowers begin to slowly fall. The ripples made by them distort my reflection, as I see myself staring back up at me. My brother always said that I look just like our mother. Sorrow fills my heart as I know that I'll never get the chance to experience a mother's love. I only have myself to blame for that as it was I who killed her during my birth. I am the one who stole my brother's happiness. That is why he hates me.

I feel all of the hurt build up inside me, not just from today but also from the previous years that this has happened. Why won't he talk to me about her anymore? Does he really hate me that much? I had managed to hide my feelings then but now I am having trouble controlling them. Unlike my brother I am not so strong. I can't keep them locked away as they slowly eat away at my heart.

I brake and begin to cry. I apologize to my brother for all that I've done to hurt him, the one person who has given me everything, and in return all I have done is remind him of what he has lost. And also I apologize to our mother whose life I ended as I greedily started my own.

I didn't expect that my brother would drop down and embrace me tightly as he told me it wasn't my fault. This is the brother that I missed and longed for since our step-father changed him. This is the Seto that I remembered. The one who always spoke openly to me and loved me beyond all that was imaginable. The one who wasn't afraid to cry like he was beginning to right now.

It is only now that I realise that Seto doesn't hate me after all. Not only is he my big brother, but also my father and my mother. A task which he hadn't asked for but what life had fated for him. He had missed out on the childhood that I was being able to live and in return had learnt to become strong to support the both of us.

I now feel so ashamed to have ever thought that there could be a place in Seto's heart that hated me. There isn't a power on earth that could ever destroy the love and bond that we both share. And as we weep together I become happier than any gift could ever make me, for today's my birthday.


	2. Seto's POV

**Yeah, I know that this story was meant to be a one-off, but every story has two sides right? Well here's Seto's.**

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

I lie awake in bed unable to sleep as thoughts about the day ahead fill my mind. Today is meant to be a happy occasion but I know that it will be over shadowed with sorrow. The time is almost 4.30 am, and after almost three hours of lying here waiting for sleep to take me I admit defeat and dress myself so that I am ready to face Mokuba's birthday.

I descend the stairs with my laptop tightly secured under my arm and witness my servants rush around as they carry out all of the tasks that I myself have no time to do. Ignoring their presence I continue to make my way to the lounge and sit comfortably on a high backed chair as I set my laptop open as I decide to make this time useful by continuing to work on the new graphics programme that I have been designing.

One of the servants brings me an extra strong mug of coffee, as routine for when I first rise in the morning. This is the dose of caffeine that will guarantee that I make it through the whole of the day ahead, just like any other day. It's too hot to drink right now so I leave it for the time being and focus on my graphics programme. I have to keep my mind busy and away from the thoughts that I feel about today. Now is not the time to mourn my losses, for I have to stay strong for Mokuba's sake.

Time passes quickly as I become engrossed with my work and the next mouthful of coffee that I take is cold and bitter. I force myself to swallow the contents of my mouth and check the time. Many hours have passed since I first opened my laptop and soon it will be time for Mokuba to wake.

My stomach growls to inform me that I must eat something to keep my strength up. Reluctantly I close my laptop and make my way out of the lounge to order my servants to make me some breakfast before I seat myself down at the table to wait. The table is all set ready for my brother and me, with today's newspaper folded in front of me at the head of the table, and in front of Mokuba's place beside me are two cards and a present. I know that one of the cards is from me, but I lean across to find out who the other is from. Instantly I can tell that it is from Yugi and his friends as nobody else that I know dots their i's with smiley faces. Their card is attached to the brightly wrapped present which makes me feel slightly bad for not getting Mokuba one from myself.

My breakfast is placed in front of me, along with a fresh mug of coffee which is nowhere near half as strong as the one that I wasted earlier. I unfold the newspaper and head straight to the business section to view my company's shares, a task which I could easily do online, but have never broken out of the habit that my step-father taught me.

Out of the corner of my eye and through the open doorway I can see Mokuba as he stands at the bottom of the stairs with a lost expression on his face. Catching his attention, I wave to him to call him over to join me before I return back to my shares. But now I can no longer focus on the text before me as my mind wanders elsewhere thinking about my brother.

I hear a couple of the servants wish him a happy birthday before he is seated beside me where he just sits quietly as he glances from his breakfast to his cards and then at me. For a moment it feels like a stare-out between us before he starts to eat his breakfast. I use the newspaper to hide my disappointed face as I'm sure that there is something bothering him but he hasn't yet shared it with me.

I would hate for him to turn out just like me, always putting on the brave face to hide those emotions that slowly torture you inside and lower your self-esteem. Although you wouldn't know it, deep down I'm still the young boy who was dumped at the orphanage with his younger brother thanks to our relatives who stabbed us in the back and abandoned us. The ones whose bloodline we share and should have been there to watch over us after our parents' deaths. My anger towards them is almost greater than that which I have for Gozaburo, and it is this that keeps me strong. These are the kind of people that I vow never to become. I will not turn my back on Mokuba, no matter what happens between us, I will always be there for him.

I'm snatched from my thoughts as I hear the sound of Yugi's voice erupt from Mokuba's card and lower my newspaper shield to watch him as he cuts the wire to stop the self recorded song from playing. I hadn't even noticed that he had already opened the card from me which is now standing up on the table in front of him.

Again I mask my face with the huge text printed pages of my newspaper. He will soon be opening the present from them and now I am beginning to feel really guilty about not getting him anything. The reason why I haven't gotten him one is simple; he never asks for anything, _ever_. How am I supposed to get him something if he doesn't tell me what he wants?

Then it hits me. Have we really grown apart over these past few years that I don't even know my own brother anymore? Has the time that we spent with our step-father had a similar affect on him as it has me? Or is he trying to act and become more like me? Horrified at the thought that the answer to all three of my fears may be _yes_, I glance at him and see a happy smile upon his face as his eyes dance with glee at the sight of the gift that he has received. The fears in my mind disappear as I see the same Mokuba that I've always known, yet have never seen him smile on this day each year.

But suddenly he places the lid back onto the box as he becomes aware of my gaze and all of the happiness drains from his face. To see the quick change in him leads me to wonder if he still blames himself for our mother's death even after all these years? Many times I have assured him that it wasn't his fault. Did he not believe a word of what I had said? Now that I think about it, just when was the last time that I reassured him or even talked about her death with him?

One of the servants enters the room and places a large bouquet of flowers down on the table in front of us before they leave us alone once more. It is exactly what I had ordered, all white, and made up of lilies, carnations, roses and larkspur. Mokuba looks uneasy at the sight of the flowers and I know that he is now thinking back to the day he was born.

After I have changed again, we set off in the limo to pay our respects to our deceased mother. I am starting to feel tired now and as the soothing motion of the limo relaxes me, I can not fight the urge and peacefully drift off in to a calm and dreamless sleep until we reach our destination when the halt wakes me. Mokuba is still sat across the seat from me and is lost in his thoughts. Poor kid, he doesn't deserve to feel like this on what should be a happy day for him. At least I'm here for him.

Together we make our way to the lake as I carry the bouquet. Our mother use to bring me here all of the time when I was younger and are some of the few memories that I have left of her. Those were happier days for me and I would give anything to return to them, but know that it would be impossible to do. You can't turn back time and change the past so I don't waste time fantasising about what could have been. And besides, even if I could change the past there are many things that I would change, but Mokuba's birth would not be one of them.

I begin to drop the flowers one by one on top of the water's surface and watch as they slowly float away. Over the years it has become easier for me to mourn over our mother but the thing which really tears me apart is that I know she is out there somewhere, buried in a cemetery, but I know not where. I know this from the times that my father took me to visit and lay flowers for her, but back then I was too young to remember the place where she lies resting or even her name. That is why we stand here today to remember her, and also why our true identities are lost.

Mokuba startles me as he starts to scream and cry, apologising for the events which it is now clear that he still blames himself for. I can't bear to see him cry and know that I have failed him as I was aware of his upset yet did nothing to comfort him. I've behaved in a similar way to those relatives that I vowed I would never become. What kind of a brother does that make me?

I hear the rest of the bouquet fall in to the lake as I drop down to my knees and reach out for Mokuba. I pull him tightly into my embrace as though it would suddenly make everything alright between us, and tell him over and over that it isn't his fault. I can not remember the last time that I told him this, but it must have been before our step-father came along.

My throat has now become tight and sore while my eyes burn as I struggle to keep control of my emotions. I swore that nothing would ever come between us, but I have failed him as I let Gozaburo rip us apart from each other. As he cries on to my shoulder I brush my fingers through his hair and lose control of myself as the tears start to flow freely. Oh Mokie, I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?

All I ever wanted to do was take care of Mokuba, the one person who means the world to me, and instead I've caused him to feel unloved and unwanted as though he were a stranger. Have I really changed that much from the way that I use to be? If so then I promise that I will do whatever it takes to change back, for my biggest fear would be to lose him forever. I know that it won't be easy and will take time for it to happen, but by this time next year I hope to have mended the bond which seems to have been frayed between us. And then he will be able to smile on his birthday.

**THE END**


End file.
